01 April 2011

THE INTERVIEW WAS LITERAL #11 [by Lisa Hoffman]

The eleventh issue of Lisa Hoffman's zine, The Interview Was Literal, is a travel diary of her cross-Canadian tour that she took with fellow artists/musicians/poets/zinesters Paula Belina and Kyra Shaughnessy. In fact, I met Lisa when Paula brought her and Kyra into my life for their Ottawa stop of the tour. I organized their show at Collected Works and helped secure a safe billet for Kyra and crammed Paula and Lisa into my bachelor apartment with me and my cat.

I am a die-hard fan of Lisa's music. The copy of the first cd I bought from her is now so scratched from over-play that my cd player stops and skips in the middle of songs. I love that album. Lisa's lyrics and deeply felt compositions tug at my heart every time, over and over.

The eleventh issue of Lisa's zine includes a scatter of lyrics from her album along with drawings, musings and poetry. My favourite aspect of this issue are its landscapes. As she traveled across Canada, she drew landscapes of the different areas she passed through, making the zine a tribute to Canada.

To explore more of Lisa's art or to order her zines and music, please visit her online portfolio. She is also planning on tabling at Ravenswing 2011 on Sunday, May 29th from 11am to 4pm at Minto Park in Ottawa. Look for her!

Who Is Zio?

Zio is a co-founder and key organizer of the Ravenswing DIY Fair, Ottawa's craft and zine fair. He also writes a zine, Electric Mayhem. He loves zines because they defy censorship and encourage freedom of expression. For information on getting reviewed, email ravenswingottawa@gmail.com.